Eye of the Tiger EN
by MM-CB
Summary: Another dead body on Maura's autopsy table. The story of how the young man with the tiger tattoo ended up in the morgue of BPD goes a long way back... (This story is available in both English and German, and I'll try and upload a new chapter every week until the season 5 premiere on June 17). COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

_Das hier ist die englische Version von "Eye of the Tiger." Wenn ihr die Geschichte lieber auf Deutsch lesen wollt, geht auf meine Profilseite und sucht nach "Eye of the Tiger DE"._

_(You're about to read the English version of this story. If you'd prefer to read it in German, go to my profile page and look for "Eye of the Tiger DE")._

* * *

**Prologue**

**Rating:** K for now

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the TV show charcters, movies, or songs mentioned in the text; however Christian Schulze, his parents and grandparents do belong to me. Any resemblance of them to real people (living or dead) is purely coincidental.

**A/N:  
**\- Apologies in advance for any grammatical errors, historical or political inaccuracies.  
\- In addition to Rizzoli &amp; Isles &amp; Co., this story also features some characters from a German crime/comedy show called "Mord mit Aussicht" about a big city detective who gets transferred to a small village in the countryside. At first, she's terribly bored with her new job, but soon she realizes that the village isn't quite as peaceful as it seems...  
\- I'll try and publish a new chapter of this fic every week until June 17 (Rizzoli &amp; Isles season 5 premiere).

* * *

-Bremen, Germany, 1970-

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Why do all the kids in my class have a daddy, and I don't?"

"You do have a daddy, Elisa. Every child has a father."

"But where is my dad?"

"In America."

"America!" Elisa's eyes went wide. "Can we go there and visit him?"

Katharina Schulze let out a quiet sigh and stroked her daughter's blonde hair. "Maybe in a few years, when you're older."

In 1974, Germany won the Soccer World Cup, Elisa Schulze celebrated her tenth birthday and asked her mother when they'd finally go to America to see her father. She got the same evasive answer as four years before and never asked that question again.

In 1989, two weeks after the Fall of the Berlin Wall and two days after she'd been told about her daughter's pregnancy, Katharina Schulze died in a car accident. Half a year later, I was born: Christian Schulze, 1' 8'' and 7.67 lb.

When we learned about the time after World War II at school, my mother told me about my American grandfather. She didn't know much, for she'd never met him herself and had to rely on what her mother- i.e. my grandma- had told her. According to that, my grandpa's hair had been blond, his first name had been Ryan or Brian, and he'd been a fan of a sports team that had something to do with red socks.

I don't really believe in coincidences, but right the next day, there was an article in the newspaper about a baseball team called Boston Red Sox winning some important title. Which brings me back to my current position: I'm sitting in plane a few thousand feet above the Atlantic, and in about five hours, I'll be in Boston and see if I can find anyone who knew my grandfather... or even Ryan/Brian himself, in case he's still alive.

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**A/N: **Reviews are great ;)


	2. Chapter 1

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 1**

**Rating: **K+

**A/N concerning Lee Thompson Young **(RIP)**: **This may change in the course of this fic, but for now, I'll stick to the series and pretend that Det. Frost is on vacation. If you don't like that, please go and find another story to read.

* * *

-Boston Police Department, USA, 2014-

"Where?... Okay, thanks, we'll be there in five."

Detective Frankie Rizzoli quickly swung his legs off his desk and stood, ready to go. "Where are we going?"

"_You _aren't going anywhere. _We_, as in Korsak and me, are gonna take a look at the dead guy that was found near Boston Common," Jane Rizzoli stopped her brother's enthusiasm before getting up from her own chair. "You comin', Vince?"

"Wait a sec." Sergeant Detective Vince Korsak turned to look at Frankie: "You workin' on a case with the Drug Unit at the moment?"

"Uh, no..."

"Great. You're comin' with us, a third pair of eyes can always come in handy and since Frost is on vacation-"

"Shouldn't we ask Martinez first?" Jane interrupted her ex-partner. "Technically, he's still Frankie's boss..."

Frankie reached for his phone and hit a speed dial button. "Hey, it's Frankie... Oh, you already know 'bout that?... Okay, uhm, enjoy your lunch." He ended the call and re-attached the phone to his belt. "This morning, Martinez called Cavanaugh and asked if he could somehow keep 'other Rizzoli' busy in Homicide 'cause apparently I'm driving everyone in the Drug Unit crazy."

"Don't worry, Martinez just doesn't like Rizzolis," Jane comforted her brother. To her surprise, the younger detective avoided her gaze and- _Did he just blush? I've never seen that happen to him! _"Frankie?"

"I think it's less about my name and more about what happened yesterday," Frankie mumbled half to his desk (well, Barry Frost's desk, but the other detective wasn't there at the moment). "I made a bet with a coworker that if I'd sit at my desk and throw paperballs at the wastepaper basket for five minutes, I'd manage to score at least ten times."

"And?"

"Nine of my paperballs landed in the wastepaper basket... and one hit Martinez in the butt 'cause he unfortunately chose exactly that moment to enter the room."

"Ouch." Jane made a face.

"Exactly. So, can we please leave now, before my boss returns from his lunch break and shoots me?"

* * *

-Boston Common, a few minutes later-

Upon stepping out of Jane's car, the detectives were greated by a large (and loud) crowd of nosy people. Fortunately, all of them were staying behind the yellow crime scene tape, but it was distracting nonetheless. "How the hell am I supposed to work with all that background noise?" Frankie commented the situation, to which Jane simply grinned: "Watch."

The two siblings watched as Korsak stood a little straighter, folded his arms over his chest, and scowled at the audience. "Okay, who of you found the body or can tell me anythin' useful about it?"

In the background of the crowd, a young woman with short dark hair raised her hand, and the bald man next to her raised a colorful umbrella.

"Fine, you stay here and tell us what ya know. The others, please leave, this is a crime scene."

* * *

The audience grumbled a bit, but began to walk off. Right when everyone was gone, a blue Toyota rounded the corner of the street and parked next to Jane's car. "The doc's there," Frankie stated the obvious as the "doc" in question emerged from the Toyota. "And she's wearing some crazy high heels again."

"Jealous that Maura can walk in those heels and you can't?" Jane teased her brother. "I'm sure she'd give you some lessons if you asked her..."

"Very funny, _Janey._" Frankie trudged over to Korsak while Jane approached her friend. "Hey. Don't be surprised if Frankie walks up to you some time during the next few days and asks you how to properly walk in high heels."

Dr Maura Isles wrinkled her brow: "Is Frankie a transsexual?"

"What?! No! Well, as far as I know, he isn't... Maura, that was a joke. Frankie doesn't want to learn how to walk in five inch heels, just like I don't wanna sleep with you."

"But we've slept in the same bed more than once; did that make you feel uncomfortable? If it does, I'll sleep in the guestroom next time you spend the night at my house..."

Jane put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Maur, I didn't mean it like that. I don't mind sleeping _in the same bed_ as you, I just don't wanna sleep _with _you 'cause I'm not into women, contrary to popular Boston PD belief."

"I see." Maura wiggled out of Jane's embrace and ducked under the crime scene tape. "Sergeant Korsak, Frankie, what have we got?"

"Caucasian male, lost quite a lot of blood," Korsak reported, followed by, "Ouch!", as Jane elbowed him in the ribs. "What was that for?"

"It's not blood, it's a suspicious reddish-brown liquid"- Jane made air quotes with her fingers- "till Maura's analyzed it in her lab and determined that it's indeed blood."

Dr Isles looked up from the body. "Thanks for supporting me, Detective."

"You're welcome."

"In this case, however, the chance that the liquid is blood is quite high, since there are some large stab wounds in our victim's torso. But I really won't be able to tell you anything else until the lab tests and the autopsy are done."

* * *

Maura stood and motioned for the crime scene techs to load the body into the Medical Examiner's van; the victim being moved causing a rectangular something to slide out from underneath his jacket. Frankie hurried to pick it up and bring it over to his fellow detectives. "His wallet."

"Very good, that should tell us who the guy is." Korsak took a few dollar notes out of the wallet, eyed them for a moment, and put them back. Next, he focused on a small plastic card with a photo that obviously showed the dead young man. "Christian Schulze."

"Huh? Where?" Frankie looked confused, and Jane rolled her eyes at her brother's stupid question before turning back to Korsak. "So, he's German?"

"Not necessarily," Maura's voice sounded from behind them. "He might also be Austrian, Swiss or - what's the matter, Sergeant Korsak?"

"I'm trying to read that small writing here, but I left my reading glasses at the precinct," the grey-haired detective explained while squinting at the plastic card in his hand. "But I'm sure your eyes are better than mine, Dr Isles - can you read what's written right above the photo?" He handed her the little card.

"It says 'Personalausweis'."

"Personal what?"

"Identity card," Maura translated.

"What about the line above that?"

"Bundesrepublik Deutschland." At the sight of three confused detectives staring at her, Maura translated that one as well: "Federal Republic of Germany."

"Well, that's a first for me - all the victims in my other cases were American citizens. I don't even know what to do in a situation like this," Jane admitted.

"We go back to BPD and wait till Cavanaugh's done with the political stuff - callin' the German Embassy and whatever else needs to be done. When he's done, we can start investigating like we usually do - interview our two witnesses, dissect Mr Schulze, et cetera. Which reminds me - you wanna drive to the precinct with us, Doc?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll ride with the body and-" she looked directly at Jane- "coming down to the morgue before I'm done with the autopsy will not make me work faster."

* * *

Korsak let out a quiet whistle when the white van was gone. "Rizzoli, what did you do to her?"

"Me? Nothing! How is it that everytime Maura's in a bad mood, people automatically assume it's my fault? Guys, I really don't know what's wrong with her - maybe it's PMS, maybe she couldn't find any shoes to match her dress..." _...or maybe she's offended about me not wanting to sleep with her. But why would she want that? I mean, she likes men, just like me... or doesn't she?_

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**A/N: **Reviews make me happy. So do PM's. See ya next week :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 2**

**Rating: **T for mentions of Sex, Drugs &amp; Rock'n Roll (well, mentions of the first two)

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, fav's and follows this story's got so far :)

* * *

"Maura?" Jane uncharacteristically lingered in the doorway; usually she'd have swaggered right into the lab, but she still remembered Maura's words from earlier that day ("Coming down to the morgue before I'm done with the autopsy will not make me work faster"). "I know you asked not to be disturbed, but-"

"You can come in; I'm not allowed to start with the autopsy until Cavanaugh's done with the 'political stuff'."

"Dr Isles, did you just make air quotes?" Jane asked in mock shock. "We're really spending too much time with each other, all my bad habits are rubbin' off on you..."

"Not all of them," Maura corrected with her index finger raised for emphasis. "You're still the only one who watches baseball with her feet propped up on the coffee table and throws popcorn at the TV when disagreeing with one of the referee's decisions."

"In baseball, we call that guy umpire, not referee," was the first thing Jane's mind came up with. _She really should know that by know, we've watched enough games together._

"Whatever."

"And that stuff you described - those aren't bad habits, it's my way of relaxing."

"Maybe you could relax in a way where I don't have to vacuum my living room afterwards?"

Jane shrugged. "Sure. Couple shots of tequila should do the trick, too."

"I was thinking more along the lines of meditation-"

"Only if I'm allowed to hit my punching bag while meditating."

"... or sexual intercourse."

"Maura!"

Senior Criminalist Susie Chang, who had been looking at something through a microscope a few meters away, looked up in alarm: "Detective?"

"It's okay, Susie, you can go back to work," Jane assured her.

"Well, if you say so..." With a shrug, the criminalist turned her attention back to her microscope, and Jane looked at her friend again. "Can we move this to your office?"

"Why?"

"Maura."

"... Fine."

* * *

Jane closed the office door, leant against it with her arms folded over her chest, and put on her best 'Bad Cop' face. "Doctor Isles, do you want to sleep with me?"

Maura blinked. "Pardon?"

"This morning at the crime scene, I told you that I don't wanna sleep with you, and you've been acting all weird since then."

The M.E. tilted her head to the side. "Define weird."

"Like you're really offended - or angry - that I don't wanna bed you."

"I dreamt of you last night." It was Jane's turn to blink in confusion; the abrupt change of topic had caught her off guard. "And... uhm... what did I do? In your dream, I mean?"

-Flashback (Maura's dream)

"Jane? It's me."

The detective didn't reply, or if she did, her reply was drowned out by the water running in the shower.

Until then, the dream had been completely realistic - in fact, Maura had been in the exact same situation once. Back then, she'd gone to the kitchen, made herself a cup of tea, and waited patiently until her friend emerged from the bathroom (which hadn't taken long, considering that Jane Rizzoli rarely ever spent more than 10 minutes in the shower).

However, this was a dream, and in her dreams even Doctor Isles did things she'd never ever do in real life. Things like stripping down to her undergarments, tiptoeing to the bathroom, and joining her friend under the shower spray. Jane almost leapt to the ceiling in shock and angrily turned to face the intruder, but before she could complain...

-End flashback-

"Woah... you... you _kissed _me?!"

A nod.

"And... did I kiss you back?" Jane wasn't sure if she really wanted to know that, but her curiosity won over her fear of what Maura's reply might be.

"At first you were too shocked to react, but then..." Maura took a few steps closer to her friend and peered up at Jane through her eyelashes. "You know, Detective Rizzoli, that dream left me wondering - are you really that good of a kisser, or was that just my imagination?"

"Uhm..." Jane tried to think of a witty answer, but the small part of her brain that was still working in such close proximity to Maura Isles was currently busy trying to analyze the color of the M.E.'s eyes: _Hazel? Greenish? Kinda both, and with little golden specks..._

_VVVvvvvt!_

The two women jumped apart as if they'd been electrochuted, and Jane reached for her vibrating phone. "It's Korsak. He wants us to come upstairs, apparently there's some guy from the German Embassy."

"Already? That was fast."

"Uh-huh."

* * *

Five very awkward minutes later, Jane and Maura stepped into one of BPD's conference rooms and were greeted by the sight of four people: Lieutenant Sean Cavanaugh, Sergeant Detective Vince Korsak, a corpulent blond man in a suit, and a dark-haired young woman Jane was quite sure she'd seen before.

Cavanaugh introduced them to each other: "Detective Jane Rizzoli, Dr Maura Isles, our Medical Examiner - Alois Huber from the German consulate here in Boston, and Bärbel Schmied, who found Christian Schulze's corpse."

* * *

**A/N: **There is a German consulate in Boston, I've looked it up. Considering that, I think it makes sense that if a dead German shows up in Boston, they send someone from the consulate to deal with it instead of having a guy from the German Embassy in Washington D.C. fly or drive all the way to Boston.


	4. Chapter 3

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 3 **(well, more like the second part of chapter 2 'cause that one was so long)

Jane only half listened to the 'political stuff' that followed, which is why she jumped a bit when her boss suddenly said her name. "Rizzoli, Vince, do you have any questions for Mr Huber?"

"No Sir."

"Okay, in that case I'll take him downstairs now." The lieutenant stood, and so did the blond Mr Huber. "Grüss Gott."

* * *

"_What _did he just say?" Korsak asked when Cavanaugh and Huber had left the room.

"Grüss Gott. It's kind of the Bavarian version of good-bye," Bärbel Schmied explained. "But it can also mean good morning, good afternoon or good night, depending on when you say it."

_Great, another genius - I've already got one. _Jane cast a brief glance at Maura and cleared her throat. "So, Miss Schmied - or is it Mrs.?"

"Miss. I'm not married."

"Okay. Do you need an interpreter?"

"No, I think I can manage this on my own."

"Alright, then please tell us about how you found the body."

"I won a trip to the US east coast in a crossword puzzle competition - Washington D.C., Boston, New York. This morning, our travelling group was on the way from the hotel to that park-"

"Boston Common?"

"Yes, and that's when I found Christian lying on the pavement... sidewalk."

"Christian? You knew him?"

"We went to school together. He was in my grade, even though he was two years younger than me."

"What was he like, back then?"

The young woman shrugged. "Inconspicious. He had good grades, but he wasn't a - what do you call this, teacher's pet? He didn't have any real friends, but got along with all of his classmates... I think I would have forgotten him shortly after finishing school if it wasn't for that day he walked into the classroom with a tiger tattoo. He said it had something to do with his new favorite movie."

Korsak was thinking so hard the others could almost see smoke coming out of his ears. "A tiger from a movie - Shere Khan from the Jungle Book?"

"Maybe the tiger doesn't actually appear in the movie, but is just talked about by the other characters?" Maura suggested.

"We should trade jobs, Doc, you're a better detective than me." Korsak's eyebrows rose in disbelief as he looked at the confused faces around the table. "Okay, guess you're too young to know that movie. Rocky, part three? It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, risin' up to the challenge of our rival..."

"That makes sense," Bärbel agreed. "Before he got that tattoo, Christian had been really fascinated by American culture for a while."

Korsak scribbled that piece of information down before asking, "Do you know if there's any next of kin we have to tell about his death?"

"I'm sorry, next of what?"

"Kin. Uhm, parents, siblings..."

"Christian was an only child, his father is unknown, and his mother lives somewhere in Florida, I think."

"Florida? I know a detective with Orlando PD." Jane exchanged a look with Korsak, who nodded: "Worth a try."

* * *

The phone rang twice before a voice answered it: "Miller."

"Chris, it's me."

"Jane Rizzoli. I'd recognize your voice anywhere... How're you doing in cold, snowy Boston?"

Jane grinned a little. "It's late April, Chris. We don't get any snow in Boston at this time of the year."

"Well, if you say so... What can I do for you?"

"Does the name Elisa Schulze ring a bell?"

"Elisa...? Yeah. Even though she was mostly known as Ellie the Owl 'round here."

"She _was_ known?"

"She got run over by a car last week. Probably was too stoned to walk properly - again - , but there is a chance it wasn't an accident. Which reminds me - her son Christian arrived at Logan International with a tourist visa the day before his mother died. Did he, by any chance, call Boston PD 'cause of a stolen wallet or something like that?"

"He's still got his wallet, but he can't use it anymore - he's lying on a stainless steel table in our basement."

"Damn, that boy was just 24... I'll send you a copy of his mother's file, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Jane ended the call and put her phone away. "Guess you can start with the autopsy now, Maur - there aren't any living relatives we have to tell about Christian's death before you cut him into little pieces."

Maura glared at her friend and stood. "That's not what I do, _Detective_, and you know that." Halfway between the table and the door, she looked back over her shoulder: "And remember what I told you about barging into the autopsy while I'm still examining the body."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, Jane and Maura will sort things out - I just couldn't resist a tiny little bit of drama. Yes, Chris from Florida will make another appearance. And yes, there will be a new chapter next week :-)


	5. Chapter 4

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 4**

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **This chapter continues exactly where the last one left off.

* * *

*tock*

"Uh, Jane? You okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Cause you just banged your forehead against the table?"

Jane scowled at her colleague. "Stop answering my questions with questions. I'm fine, just _a little _annoyed that someone mistook Maura and me for 'more than friends'... again. Someone who's known me for less than two hours, I might add."

"I think I saw this in an American crime show once..." Bärbel Schmied cleared her throat and declared in her best fake American accent: "I'm a cop, it's my job to notice things."

"Wait, did you just quote a TV show or are you really a cop?" Korsak asked in confusion.

"I am a cop."

"Really?"

"Yes." Bärbel produced her service card and held it up for the Boston detectives to read.

"Huh, okay... I know you're on holiday and probably don't wanna talk about your job, but what exactly do you do at work? Like, do you investigate murders, drug-related cases...?" _She just asked me a pretty personal question, now it's my turn._

"Uhm, a little bit of everything... The police station in Hengasch is so small that we don't have an extra Homicide Unit or Drug Unit like here in Boston."

"How small is small?"

Bärbel actually blushed a little. "Three police officers."

"_Three?_"

"Yes, my boss, my colleague Dietmar, and me. But there are less than 2.000 people who live in Hengasch, so you don't need that many cops there, I think."

"2.000 inhabitants and three cops," Korsak repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "You must be completely overwhelmed by Boston and Boston PD."

"A little," the young woman admitted. "But it's also exciting - you investigate 'real' crimes and not just cases of pushed over cows." At the sight of Jane's and Korsak's confused faces, she added, "There was a time when some Hengasch teenagers thought it was fun to climb over the electric fences at night and push the cows over."

Korsak snorted, "Teenagers," before clearing his throat. "Miss Schmied, you're the one who found Christian Schulze's body, which makes you an important witness in this case. I'm afraid you'll have to stay in town till the case is closed."

"That's okay, I didn't like my travelling group anyway. The youngest of them was 40 years older than me... uh, no offence, Sergeant."

"None taken. Are you stayin' at a hotel?"

"Yes."

Korsak took out his phone and dialled a number. "Frankie, it's Korsak. You busy right now?... Okay, then please come to conference room #3."

* * *

A few minutes later, Frankie Rizzoli poked his head into the room. "What's up?"

"Can you take our witness to her hotel when you're done staring at her?"

"What?... Oh, sure." Frankie opened the door for Bärbel and almost got his foot caught in it when he closed it behind them.

"Aww, young love...",Korsak sighed, pressing his hand against his chest at the approximate location of his heart.

Jane made a face: "Stop it right now, Vince. We're talkin' about my little brother here."

"So what, he's not allowed to have a crush?"

"Yes, but not on a German small village cop who's almost ten years younger than him."

"Well, sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with..."

_I have to get outta here before he brings up the topic of Maura and me and our supposed 'more-than-friendship'. _Jane got up from her chair. "I'm gonna get some coffee, you want a cup, too?"

"Yes, please."

* * *

Division One café

"Hey Ma."

"Janie! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," Jane answered automatically, but Angela Rizzoli couldn't be deceived so easily: "Janie, you may be a detective, but I'm your mother, and I know when my kids aren't feeling well."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Does it have to do with Maura?"

"Which part of I. Don't. Wanna. Talk. About. It did you not understand?" Jane asked through clenched teeth.

"Woah, calm down." Angela Rizzoli took a step back (for safety purposes) before asking, "D'you want some coffee?"

"Nope, just came down here to see the woman I spent hours sitting at a dinner table with just two days ago."

"Oh, how nice of you to think of your old mother like that..."

Jane frowned. "Stop using sarcasm, that's my part."

* * *

"Detective?" Jane whipped around so fast she almost dropped her coffee. "Damnit, Maura, d'you have to sneak up to me like that?"

Doctor Isles decided to treat this question as a rhetorical one and not answer it. "Hello to you, too."

"Hi," Angela replied cheerfully, while Jane rolled her eyes. "What brings you here?"

"I've found something on our victim."

"Okay, uhm, let me just take Korsak's coffee upstairs." Jane reached for the paper mug that was still on the counter and was about to leave the café when Angela spoke again: "I could do that, you know? Bring Vince his coffee, that is."

"Thanks for the offer, Ma, but..." _I don't wanna be alone with Maura right now, least of all in a tiny elevator. _Jane ignored the metaphorical little devil on her shoulder that said, _Yeah sure. Admit it, you definitely wanna be alone with her and continue where you were interrupted in her office earlier today._

"... but what?"

"Never mind." Jane downed her own coffee, wincing as the hot liquid burned her tongue. "Maur, let's go."

* * *

**A/N: **Just read on, I've divided this chapter into two parts 'cause it was so long.


	6. Chapter 5

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 5 **(well, Part Two of chapter 4)

BPD, Morgue

"So what did you find?"

"A white substance around two of the stab wounds."

"A 'white substance'? Care to put that a bit more exact?"

"Not until the substance has been analysed in the lab."

Jane let out an audible exhale and tried not to sound too impatient. "Anything else? Like, blood or skin cells under his fingernails that could give us the killer's DNA?"

"No, and there aren't any defence wounds either."

"What?! So he just stood there waitin' for the killer to stab him?" Jane started pacing back and forth as her 'detective brain' (finally) kicked into gear: "Any skin abrasions on his wrists or ankles?"

Maura shook her head no. "There aren't any signs that would indicate he was tied up."

"So he could've defended himself, but he didn't. And why? 'Cause it was too late to do anything when he saw the knife."

"We can't be sure about that, Jane."

"But it makes sense. Either he was blindfolded or the killer kept his knife hidden behind his back till he was standing right in front of our vic. Or there where two perps - one held our vic captive and the other rammed a knife into his stomach."

"We don't know yet if the stab wounds were caused by a knife."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Really? Then what would you stab people with, Doctor Isles?"

"Any sort of sharp, pointy object - a knife, a pair of scissors, a wakizashi..."

"A whacky-what?"

"Wakizashi, a short Samurai sword."

"Oh, you own one of those?"

"No, but that doesn't matter since this is just a hypothetical scenario. I would never stab anyone - I spent three days in jail and believe me, I definitely don't want to go there again."

"That's good, I don't want to arrest you again, either."

"Oh, you know, Detective..." Maura reached for the scalpel on the small table next to her, 'accidentally' offering her friend a view down the v-neck of her scrubs. "I wouldn't mind if you tried your handcuffs on me..."

* * *

It was a good thing there wasn't any food or beverage in Jane's mouth at the moment, for she'd have spit it all over the autopsy table and possibly destroyed important evidence on Christian Schulze's body. "Maura!"

"Yes?"

"You're flirting with me over a dead body!"

"Well, where else would I do it?"

"How about... nowhere? I'm not your girlfriend - well, I am - your girlfriend as in 'the girl who's your friend', not as in, 'the girl you sleep with'! Even though at least half of BPD thinks otherwise."

Before Maura could reply, Jane's phone vibrated, indicating an incoming text. "Frankie. Chris has faxed Elisa Schulze's file."

"Oh, good... By the way, how come you know a detective from Florida?"

Jane, who was almost at the door, turned back to her friend. "Chris and I went to police academy together."

"I see." Maura was pretty sure Jane wasn't telling her the whole story, but right know, she had an autopsy to get done. "I'll call you when I've found something."

"Okay, see ya."

* * *

Homicide bullpen

"So what does it say in that file?" Jane sat down at her desk and looked at Korsak, who was holding said file in his hand.

"Well, if you take a look at the photo, you'll definitely know why the cops in Orlando called her Ellie the Owl," Frankie piped up.

"Hey, there was a time when large glasses like that were the latest fashion!" Korsak claimed.

"Yeah? When was that?"

"Late 70ies, I think."

"1870ies?"

"Very funny, other Rizzoli. 1970ies, of course." Korsak reached for his reading glasses. "Elisa Schulze, born in 1964 in Bremen, Germany, parents Katharina Schulze and Private Ryan Baxter. Private Ryan was stationed in Germany from 1960-64, and somewhere durin' that time, he met Katharina Schulze, who somehow ended up pregnant with his baby."

"What else do we know about Elisa's parents?"

"Private Ryan was transferred back to the US in 1964, a few months after his daughter's birth. Two years later, he got married to one Jessica Smith. Ryan died of lung cancer in 1985, but his widow's still living in Boston."

"Okay, we'll have to bring her in for questioning."

"Katharina Schulze died in a car accident in winter 1989. Half a year later, her grandson Christian was born. Shortly after his graduation from school in 2008, his mother emigrated to Florida, where she got run over by a car last week." Korsak looked up from the file. "That family's got really bad luck with cars."

"Well, Christian was stabbed dead."

"We don't know that for sure." Jane resisted the urge to bang her forehead against the table again. _Pull yourself together, Rizzoli, you're soundin' like Maura already. _"But we do have a possible reason for why he came to Boston - he wanted to meet his grandfather or at least see the place where Ryan grew up. Unfortunately there's someone who wasn't okay with that and killed Christian."

"And our job is to find that someone," Frankie stated the obvious.

"_Our _job? Don't you have to go back to the Drug Unit sometime?"

"Yeah, but until then I can help with your case, right?"

_VVvvv!_

"Huh, guess not. Martinez wants to see me. Uhm, good look with your case." Frankie stood and left the room.

"Let's start with trackin' down Jessica Baxter," Korsak suggested. "Damn, I wish computer kid was here, he'd be way faster at findin' that woman."

"Yeah," Jane agreed, casting a look at Frost's empty desk before concentrating on her own computer screen. _Okay now, focus._

* * *

**A/N: **I don't think BPD still owns something as old-fashioned as fax machines, but in the world of fanfiction, anything goes :-) See ya next week.


	7. Chapter 6

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 6**

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **I'm really sorry there wasn't a new chapter last week - I was hit by writer's block, and when I was finally done writing this chapter, I had no Internet access for a few days and couldn't publish it :(

* * *

Several hours later, a very annoyed Jane Rizzoli trudged into the autopsy. "Maura, please tell me you've found somethin'. I'm really not in the mood for any more bad news right now."

"The white substance I found near two of the stab wounds came back from the lab. It's whipped cream."

"So... he was killed with a cake knife?"

"The stab wounds to his stomach were most likely painful, but not fatal, since they didn't hurt any vital organs or major blood vessels. See that haematoma here?"

"If you're referring to that fist-size bruise, yeah."

"It's the result of a blunt trauma that broke his left clavicle and thus lead to his death."

"You sure? 'Cause I once broke my collarbone when I was a kid, and yet I'm still alive, as you can see..."

"Left or right?"

"Huh?"

"Did you break your left or right clavicle back then?"

"The right one. I only remember 'cause I was given detention three days later and had to write down some dumb sentence a hundred times."

"And since you're left handed, you couldn't have written anything with a broken left collarbone," Maura agreed. "Do you happen to remember that 'dumb sentence'?"

Incomprehensible muttering.

"Pardon?"

"I must not break windows with my foot."

"Why would do that?"

"Uhm, I tried to kill a fly that was buzzin' round my head, broke a cafeteria window, and right then Sister Winnifred walked in and put me in detention. What's that got to do with our guy here?"

"He bled to death after the broken end of his left clavicle punctured his aorta."

Jane made a face. "Ouch. D'you have a time of death?"

"Twelve to 18 hours before your witness found him - I'm afraid I can't narrow it down any more, since I don't know how long the body was actually lying outside on the sidewalk."

"He was killed somewhere else and deposited outside when he was dead?"

"The corpse was definitely moved, and I found some fibres in the hair on the back of his head that are often used in carpets. That means he was probably killed in a room with a carpet floor and dragged outside post mortem. Unfortunately I don't know if he was left in a warm environment for some time or if the killer exposed him to the cold night air right after his death-"

"... meaning you can only give an approximate time of death."

"Exactly."

"Well, that's more than Korsak and I've got so far." Jane gave a brief summary of Elisa Schulze's file from Florida. "... so we drove to Jessica Baxter's adress, but she wasn't there - hasn't been home for at least three weeks, judging from her crammed mailbox. Neigbors didn't know anything either, of course. Really, I hate cases like this - no fingerprints or DNA traces, no suspects, and our only witness is busy flirtin' with Frankie and sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

"For example?"

"Earlier today in the conference room, right after you'd left, she wanted to know if we're 'just friends' or something more. I know, I know, it's not the first time someone mistook us for a couple, but that chick had only met me like two hours before! Okay, she's a cop, so curiousity's part of her job description, but..."

"She's a police officer, too?"

"Uh-hu, in a village with less than 2k inhabitants and three cops, including her. Why d'you ask?"

"If I remember correctly, Frankie's last girlfriend turned out to be a serial killer's apprentice, so I'm glad his new love interest is a fellow cop."

"You're right," Jane had to admit. "She might be battin' for the other team, though."

"Why would you think that?"

"Her hairstyle."

"There are plenty of heterosexual short-haired woman," Maura disagreed, to which Jane rolled her eyes: "Kidding. But you know what they say about sporty females in 'typical male' professions, right?"

"When did you start believing in prejudices?"

* * *

Jane was saved from having to answer by Korsak entering the morgue. "Hey Doc, did ya find anythin' on the body?"

"He died from internal exsanguination after the broken end of his left clavicle punctured his aorta. Time of death is twelve to 18 hours before the body was found, and I found some whipped cream near two of the stab wounds," Maura rattled off. "I'm afraid that's all I've got right now."

"Okay, then I'm gonna leave now; Starsky's got a vet's appointment."

"Didn't you take him to the vet's just last week?"

"Nope, that was Hutch."

"Oh, right, how could I forget that?"

Korsak ignored his coworker's sarcasm - he was used to it. "I told Cavanaugh you'd probably go home soon, too. We can't do much investigatin' right now - Frankie's new girlfriend told us everything she knows, Jessica Baxter's probably lying' on a beach somewhere and drinkin' rum, and we don't have any fingerprints or DNA from the killer so far."

"Would you please stop referrin' to our witness as Frankie's girlfriend? She's almost ten years younger than him!"

"So what?... Anyway, Bärbel suggested to Frankie that we should maybe call her colleagues in Germnay, see if they know anything 'bout our vic or his mother. We'll have to do that tomorrow, though, 'cause it's the middle of the night in Central Europe right now."

"A few minutes after 1 a.m., to be exact," Maura agreed after checking her watch. "There's a six hour time difference between Boston and Germany."

"Thanks Google."

"My pleasure." Maura covered Christian Schulze's body with a white sheet and locked it away for the night. "Jane, could you help me change out of my scrubs?"

"Wha... why... uhm... Can't you do that alone?" _Stop stutterin' already! How old are you, twelve?_

"I can change out of my scrubs on my own, but I may need help zipping up my dress..."

"And that's the point where I say, 'Good night and see ya tomorrow, ladies'." A rather red-faced Korsak made a hasty retreat from the room, leaving a grinning Medical Examiner and a confused Detective behind. "What the... Korsak, for the last time: Maura and I aren't-" Jane realized that her coworker couldn't hear her anymore. "Uh, never mind. Maur?"

Dr Isles emerged from her office, having changed from her scrubs back into yet another fancy designer dress (apparently she'd been able to zip the dress by herself). "I'm ready, let's go."

* * *

Beacon Hill, a few hours later

"Jane?"

"Huh?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Yep."

Maura frowned. "You wouldn't be able to answer this question if you actually were asleep."

"I know."

Sigh. "I don't understand your humor. Especially not after 10 p.m."

"Look on the bright side, you understand pretty much everythin' else."

"Oh, there are quite a few things I don't understand. One of them being your relationship with Chris."

It was Jane's turn to sigh. "You won't let that one go, will ya?" She placed her empty beer bottle on the coffee table. "Okay. Fine. Chris - Christina - and I went to police academy together."

"You said that already."

"D'you wanna hear the story or keep interrupting me?"

"Sorry. Please go on."

"Right. So, Chris had a boyfriend - I don't remember his name anymore, but I know he had this fantasy of watchin' two girls, y'know, getting it on with each other. I guess that's a pretty common fantasy among guys." Jane held up a hand to stop the lecture on male sex fantasies that was bound to follow her last statement. "Anyway, it was the boyfriend's birthday, and he asked me if I'd sleep with Chris while he watched. I said yes."

"You did?" Maura couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. _Jane Rizzoli, who blushes if you even say the word 'sex' around her, agreed to have intercourse with another female in front of said female's boyfriend?_

"I was drunk."

"Oh."

"And we didn't do it anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Chris broke up with her boyfriend the next day after she walked in on him makin' out with his roommate, a wannabe bodybuilder whose brain was about the size of a peanut. End of story." Jane got up from the couch, intent on relocating to the bedroom, but didn't get very far before her phone started ringing. _Damnit. _"Rizzoli."

As if on cue, Maura's phone joined in to the ringing. "Dr Isles? Okay, we'll be there in a bit."

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the cliffhanger. My Internet access is working again, so you shouldn't have to wait too long for the next chapter :)


	8. Chapter 7

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 7**

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **Told ya the new chapter would be uploaded faster :)

* * *

BPD, observation room

"That's your suspect?" Jane asked her brother upon entering the observation room.

"Yep. Jason Builder, we arrested him for tryin' to sell dope to some college kids."

"Builder as in bodybuilder?" Maura joined the conversation, taking in the way the man's bulging arm muscles strained against the sleeves of his Patriots jersey.

"Yeah. The name fits him, huh?"

"And you called Homicide because... ?" Jane came back to the original topic.

"He's said three sentences since we put him in there: 'Someone's gotta take care of Jessica if I go to jail', then Martinez asked him who Jessica was, and he said, 'Jessica Baxter, nice ol' lady I sometimes help carry heavy shoppin' bags and stuff'. That's when I called you and Korsak."

"What's the third sentence he said?" Maura asked.

"'I won't say nothin' more till my lawyer gets here'."

* * *

The lawyer in question arrived shortly after midnight, but even with an advocate present, Jason Builder didn't talk much. At least he told the police that he and Jessica Baxter had invited him for coffee two days before and that he'd taken the woman to the airport afterwards because she had to catch a flight to Hawaii.

"You know when she'll come back to Boston?" Martinez asked, and the bodybuilder shrugged: "Some time next week."

"Damnit," Korsak grumbled. "If she was an official suspect in our case, we could make her come back earlier. But for now, she's just our vic's step-grandmother." He turned to Frankie. "Did you take Mr Builder's fingerprints? Maybe we can find them on our vic's body, too..."

"You think he helped Jessica kill her step-grandson?"

"Well, Dr Isles said our vic was killed by the broken end of his left collarbone puncturin' his aorta. Who d'you think could break bones with a punch - an old lady who needs help carryin' her shopping bags, or Mr Muscle on the other side of this one-way mirror?"

"The latter, but neither of them really had a reason to kill your vic..."

"Maybe they had." Jane started pacing back and forth as best as she could in the small observation room. "Imagine you're Jessica Baxter - Korsak, Frankie, I know that's kinda difficult for guys, but try it, okay?"

Korsak briefly closed his eyes before re-opening them. "I'm ready."

"Good. You're married to Ryan Baxter, and you really want kids, but for some reason it doesn't work. Decades later - Ryan's died in the meantime - a young man appears on your doorstep: Your stepdaughter's son. Yes, Ryan Baxter, who couldn't get you pregnant, had a daughter with another woman. How'd you feel in a situation like that?"

"Jealous?" Frankie suggested.

"Exactly. Jealousy, one of the most frequent reasons for murder. As for Jason - maybe Jessica paid him, or threatened to call the cops and tell them he's a drug dealer."

"Makes sense," Korsak agreed. "But we need evidence. Frankie, can you-"

Right then, there was a knock on the door, and Lieutenant Rafael Martinez poked his bald head into the room. "There you are, other Rizzoli. We've got a case, some old couple found a plastic bag of cocaine in their garden... at least they believe it's cocaine."

"Shoot, I was about to ask him to call the airlines, see if Jessica Baxter's really flown to Hawaii. Guess I'll have to do that myself now," Korsak sighed in mock desperation, and Jane good naturedly punched his shoulder. "You'll manage, old man. Let's go upstairs."

* * *

Some two hours later (several airlines had hesitated to give out information about their passengers), it was certain that Jessica Baxter had indeed taken a flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, the last Monday at 5:38 p.m. Boston time... and Jane Rizzoli was fighting the urge to bang her forehead against the table. "R-I-Z-Z-O-L-I. Three syllables. Really, what's so difficult about my last name?!"

"Huh?" Normally, Korsak would have asked the question in a more polite way, but right now it was 2 a.m. and his last cup of coffee had been drained long ago.

"Oh, it's just that all the airline guys are now tellin' their colleagues about this BPD Detective named Jake or Jay Rizzonga, Rizzombie or - my personal favorite - Ravioli."

"Well, your voice _is _quite deep for a woman," Maura pointed out.

"I know, I'm used to people on the other end of the phone mistakin' me for a guy. But I wasn't named after an Italian kind of pasta!"

"Speakin' of Italian food: D'you know what your mother's gonna cook next Sunday?"

"No idea, Vince, ask her yourself. Why're you're so sure you'll get an invitation to Rizzoli Sunday dinner, anyway? Maybe Ma'll invite Cavanaugh, her other-" Jane shuddered- "almost-boyfriend?"

"Even if she invites both of us - both Sean and I are responsible adults, we can behave."

"Do all 'responsible adults' watch cute kitten vides on Youtube when there's nothin' else to do?"

"At least I didn't run a marathon in a P.U.K.E. outfit just because my 'friend' asked me to run it with her," Korsak shot back, which earned him a trademark Rizzoli eyeroll. "One, Maura's my friend. Like, just friend, no air quotes around it. And two, I'd love to see _you_ run a marathon... okay, maybe I don't."

Korsak pouted. "Thanks... I guess."

"You're welcome. I think we should stop this now, before Maura's head falls off."

"It's highly unlikely that my head will-"

"With the way you kept lookin' back and forth between me and Korsak like you were watching a tennis match, I wouldn't be that sure."

"Well, your exchange did remind me of a verbal tennis match, or perhaps table tennis, because your words flew back and forth really fast. Speaking of table - you both look like you're about to fall asleep on your desks."

As if on cue, Korsak jerked up. "Huh?... Uhm, yeah. It's 2:30 a.m., we're scheduled to call the police in Hengasch tomorrow at 8 a.m. our time, and we haven't really found out anythin' new about the case." The grey-haired Detective hoisted himself out of his chair. "See ya in five hours."

"Do you want to go home, too?" Maura asked when Korsak had left. "I'd offer you the couch in my office to sleep on, but you always complain about it being uncomfortable."

"Well, it is," Jane stated. "Uncomfortable, I mean. Can we go back to your place? It's closer to BPD."

"Sure."

* * *

**A/N: **Another chapter I've divided in half. Please read on :)


	9. Chapter 8

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 8 **(aka Chapter 7, Part 2)

EDIT 5/29/2014: I didn't like the end of this chapter, so I added a few paragraphs to it. When you're done reading them, there's also a new chapter waiting for you :)

* * *

Conference room, next morning

"Okay, we've got video, sound should start working in a minute," the technician announced before stepping aside so that the other people in the room had a better view of the big screen on the wall.

"Thanks, Colby." Jane nugded Bärbel Schmied, who was standing next to her: "I thought there were only three cops in your village?"

"There are. The blonde woman in the red jacket is my boss, the man next to her is my colleague Dietmar, and the others are people from Hengasch who want to see real American cops."

"Really?" Frankie waved at the camera, earning him an elbow punch to the ribs and a "Stop that!" from his sister.

"Sorry," Frankie mumbled, rubbing his side while Jane rolled her eyes (once again): "Real American cops, huh? Well, they've seen us now, so can someone please tell them to get out?"

The blonde woman Bärbel had introduced as her boss said something in German, and the crowd - begrudgingly - left the room.

"Wanna bet they'll stay outside the door tryin' to eavesdrop?" Frankie remarked.

"Eavesdrop?"

"Listen, overhear..."

"Oh yes, Heike will definitely do that."

"Who's Heike?"

"Dietmar's wife. She likes to stick her nose where it doesn't belong - is that how you say it in English, too?"

"Yeah," Korsak replied in Frankie's place before turning his attention to the big screen. "Hengasch, this is Boston PD, can you hear us?"

"Yes, we can."

"Very good. Can you tell us anything about Christian Schulze or his mother Elisa?"

Dietmar tried to say something in English, but gave up and stuck to his native tongue instead. Bärbel translated: "He says that his parents told him about Katharina Schulze, Christian's grandmother. When she was 16, she spent the holidays at her aunt's house in Bremen and didn't come back to Hengasch when school started again."

"Cause she was pregnant and people weren't supposed to know who the father was: a US soldier named Ryan Baxter," Korsak agreed, and Bärbel once again took the role of interpreter. Both her colleagues in Hengasch nodded their heads before Dietmar spoke again. "He says that in 2000, a woman named Elisa Schulze and her ten-year-old son Christian moved to Hengasch. When she told the village people she was the daughter of Katharina Schulze, they stopped talking to her and her son."

Frankie's eyebrows went up: "Really? Just because her Dad was an American soldier?"

"Mostly because her mother was only 16 when she got pregnant from that soldier and didn't even marry him afterwards." Bärbel shrugged. "In small villages like Hengasch, traditions were very important back then - they still are. I'm sure it's the same in America."

"Uh... no idea. Korsak, Jane and me were born in Boston and spent our whole life here."

"I was born in Los Angeles and have lived in many different places, but never in a village as small as Hengasch," Maura added.

"Oh, okay. Never mind. Do you know anything else?" The last (German) sentence was directed at the to cops in Hengasch. Dietmar's bangs bounced as he vigorously nodded his head and said something in German. The Boston detectives waited for the translation, but none came. "Hey, what did he say?" Jane wanted to know.

"It hasn't anything to do with the case really."

"Yeah?"

Perhaps the lights were to blame for this, but it seemed that Bärbel blushed a little. "It's something his wife asked him to tell you. Something about you and Dr Isles."

Jane had a disturbing feeling that this was about her and Maura's supposed 'more-than-friendship' - and Jane Rizzoli's gut feeling was rarely wrong. _On the other hand, Heike's seen us for just a few seconds, she can't draw any conclusions from that. _"What is it?"

"Heike says that it doesn't matter if you're in love with a man or a woman, as long as you're happy, and that falling in love with a woman doesn't mean you're a lesbian and won't fall in love with men any more... What did I say?"

"For the last time-" Jane made eye contact with everyone, including the Hengasch cops on the screen, before raising to her full height of almost six feet. "I'm not gay, neither is Maura, and we're just friends. Got it?"

Affirmative mumbling.

"Good. If no one else has somethin' to say about this case, I suggest we end this call now and start working. We in Boston have a murder to solve, and I'm sure you-" talking to Dietmar and Bärbel's boss- "have some pushed over cows to take care of, or whatever." With that, Jane marched from the room, Maura click-clacking after her as fast as she could in her 4'' heels. "Jane!"

"WHAT?!"

Maura took a step back and held up her hands. "Whoa, calm down. What's wrong with you?"

"I need coffee, I only got for hours of sleep last night," Jane offered in a way of explaining.

"I see. But there's something else, too, right?"

Jane was about to reply when her phone vibrated. Glancing at the caller ID, the detective groaned. _Crowe. Right when I thought this day couldn't get any worse... _"Rizzoli. What is it?"

"Hey, no need to snap at me. It's that time of the month again, huh?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but it's not. Why did ya call me?"

"You got a visitor waitin' downstairs."

"Okay, thanks." Jane ended the call and turned back to her friend. "Someone's waiting for me downstairs, you wanna come along?"

"Is it Casey?"

"Dunno, Crowe just said it's 'a visitor'."

"Well in that case, I'll come along and help you get rid of them, if it's necessary," Maura decided.

"What makes you think I want to get rid of that visitor, whoever they are?"

"Well, Tommy usually only shows up at BPD when he's in trouble, and even though you'd never let your family down, you're quite busy with a case right now and don't really have time for dealing with your brother's problems, too. And your ex-boyfriend - sorry, ex-_fiancé _\- is in Afghanistan, as far as we know. I can't think of anyone else who'd visit you at work."

Meanwhile, the two of them had arrived at the elevator, and Jane pressed the 'Down' arrow. "Let's find out."

* * *

**Author's Note/Random fact: **The new (third) season of Mord mit Aussicht will start airing on German tv in fall 2014, and guess what? Bärbel Schmied will discover that she's pregnant. I think the writers of MmA and Rizzoli &amp; Isles are conspiring... Kidding. See ya next week :)


	10. Chapter 9

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 9**

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **Less than 3 weeks till the season 5 premiere! Woo-hoo! :D  
This chapter is more 'Romance' than 'Crime' (no Rizzles though... yet...)

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors opened on the first floor, Jane's eyes immediately went to the reception desk - or, more specifically, to the person standing next to it with their back to Jane. _No army fatigues, so it's not Casey. And the hair's too long and too blond to be Tommy's. So who is that?_

"Jane?"

"Huh?... Oh." The detective quickly exited the elevator before the doors closed again, still looking at the person next to the reception desk...

* * *

... when said person turned around. Jane froze for a second, muttering "Holy crap!", before almost running to the other woman and stopping just a foot in front of her. "Chris! What're you doin' in Boston?"

"What, I can't pay a surprise visit to an old friend?"

"Hey! I'm not old!"

Chris grinned. "I know. Um, I'd hug you, but from what I remember you're not much of a touch-feely type, so - Okay, seems like my memory was wrong." The Florida detective gave a small groan. "Uhm, Jane? Oxygen?"

"Sorry." Jane let go and looked her friend up and down (or the other way round). "You look good."

"Thanks. You too."

Jane felt her face grow warm and quickly changed topic: "It's almost lunch time, wanna go to the café?"

"Sure."

"Okay, but consider yourself warned - my mother works there. Oh, and I'd like to introduce you to someone first." Jane motioned for Maura to come closer, which the doctor did. "Detective Christina Miller, Orlando PD - Dr Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"Call me Chris, no one but my Ma calls me by my full name."

"Only if you call me Maura."

"Deal." They shook hands, then Chris turned back to her fellow detective. "Jane Rizzoli, you're one lucky girl. Florida's Chief M.E. is a grey-haired, racist asshole who thinks women should stay at home cooking and takin' care of the kids."

Maura was about to launch into a speech on outdated patriarchal role models, but Jane beat her to it. "Let's go."

* * *

Right when Angela was done squealing in joy and hugging the air out of Chris' lungs, two patrol cops left the café, and Jane quickly occupied their now empty table, waiting for Maura and Chris to join her. Ever the detective, she noticed something sparkling on Chris' left hand and smirked when the other cop sat down opposite her. "Is that what I think it is?"

Chris returned the smirk. "What do you think it is, Detective Rizzoli?"

"Weeeellll..." Jane drawled, pretending to think really hard. "Maur, what did you call mine? A 'piece of colorless compressed carbon'?"

Maura raised an eyebrow. "You actually listened to me, Jane? I'm impressed."

"Yeah, sometimes I do."

"Only sometimes?"

"You're engaged, too?" Chris interjected.

"I was, but I sent the ring back to Casey. And I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Sorry." Chris' smile fell a little.

"You can tell me about your engagement anyway - I can see you're dyin' to do that."

The megawatt smile was back in an instant. "Jane, you may call me a hopeless romatic when I'm done tellin' you this, but it was just... perfect." Chris glanced down at her ring. "We had a picnic on the beach, and when it got dark and you could see the stars appearing, Frankie got down on one knee and asked me *that* question." She looked back up, her eyes suspicously moist. "I said yes, obviously."

"That sounds very romantic," Maura agreed.

"It does," Jane had to admit. _Unlike Casey's 'proposal' which was more of an ultimatum... Ugh, don't think about that. _"So your future husband's name is Frankie? Like my little brother?"

"Not really, and no."

Jane blinked. "Pardon?"

"Frankie's just a nickname - short for Francesca."

"Francesc**a**?... Uhm... wow... I didn't know you were..."

"A lesbian. You can say the word, Jane, it won't kill you."

"Sorry. I just don't like that word 'cause people always assume I am one - a lesbian, that is. Y'know the clichés, a woman in a 'typical male' profession who likes sports and beer and doesn't really care about her clothes... I'm not homophobic or anything, but I know I'm straight and will never sleep with another woman."

"First, never say never. And second, you almost slept with me," Chris reminded her friend.

"Emphasis on 'almost', and I was drunk when I agreed to it," Jane countered.

"The next day, when we wanted to do it, you were sober again... but that's not the reason why I'm here. Frankie and I are thinkin' about moving to a town near New York City, Frankie's inherited a house from her grandparents there. This weekend, we're gonna take a look at it."

"If that house is located in New York, what exactly are you doing in Boston?" Maura piped up.

"Frankie had to step in for a sick coworker of hers, she's taking a direct flight to New York on Friday. I had so many unused vacation days-" ("Just like me," Jane muttered under her breath)- "that I decided to take the whole week off work and stop by in Boston."

"I see. Just... in case you two decide to move to New York, don't you dare become a Yankees fan. Otherwise I'd have to break off our friendship."

"Don't worry, neither Frankie nor I are really interested in sports... unless those 'sports' take place on a mattress, or on the couch, the kitchen counter, the-"

"Too much information!" Jane exlaimed, covering her ears with her hands, and Chris giggled. "Really, some things never change. You still blush from simply hearing the word sex, just like you did back in our academy days."

"I didn't blush!" _Okay, maybe a little bit... cause I was imaginin' Maura and myself practicing 'sports' in bed or on that uncomfortable orange couch in her office..._

"You totally did." A phone started ringing; Chris quickly grabbed her purse and stood from her chair. "That's my mother's ringtone. Uhm, it was nice meeting you, but I really have to take this call."

"It's okay, we have to get back to work anyway. Call me if you wanna join us at the Robber or somethin'."

"I will." Chris took the call, which Jane and Maura took as their cue to leave the café.

* * *

"I think they're going to move to New York," Maura stated on the way to the elevators.

"Yeah? And how do you know that, Doctor Smartypants?"

"They want to marry each other, something they aren't allowed to do in Florida."

Jane frowned. "How do you know the states in which lesbians can get married? And why're you interested in that topic anyway - you're straight?"

"I read newspapers, and I'm interested in it because... I'm interested in many things. _That's at least one reason, so I won't get hives._

One of the elevators gave a "Ping" sound, signalling its arrival on the first floor. Maura stepped into the metal cabin and pressed the button for the basement. "I'll call you if I find anything new."

"Okay." Jane waited for the second elevator for what felt like ten minutes (actually it was just two minutes, but she was a very impatient person) before deciding to take the stairs. _Early morning exercise. Haha._

* * *

**A/N:**

1\. The next chapter will deal with the case again.

2\. You're welcome to leave a review, I won't bite ;)


	11. Chapter 10

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 10**

**Rating: **T

**A/N: **Just so you know, there'll be no 'Jasey' baby in this fic. Yes, I've watched the season 4 finale, and yes, I know that in Tess Gerritsen's books, Jane marries FBI Agent Dean and they have a daughter, and that Angie Harmon has three kids, but I just can't imagine Jane Rizzoli with a big baby belly. (Also, I don't like Col. Beard Force/Casey.) If that's not to your liking, please go and find another story to read.

* * *

Homicide bullpen, about 30 minutes later

Vince Korsak returned from the bathroom just in time to see his coworker's face contort in - _pain? _"You alright over there, Rizzoli?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Uh-huh... Translation: _You don't believe that yourself, do ya?_

"No really, I'm fine." Jane clenched her jaw. "Well, 'cept for my bellyache."

"Maybe you should've given your second donut to me," Korsak suggested. "I can eat four or five of these things without my stomach complaining."

"Very funny, Vince. It's not my stomach that hurts."

"Then what... Oh!"

"_Oh_ is right." Jane stood from her chair. "I'm gonna go and see Maura."

"Okay, see ya later..." _I've been married three times, but I still don't get female logic._

* * *

Jane stopped by at the bathroom, found her suspicions confirmed, and took the elevator down to the morgue, where she met a nervous Senior Criminalist Susie Chang. "Uhm, hi Detective. Doctor Isles is in her office."

"Okay, thanks Susie." _I wonder why that woman is so scared of me, I'm such a nice person... usually..._

Maura looked up from her computer screen as her friend entered her office. "Jane, I only came back from lunch half an hour ago, I haven't found anything new yet."

"That's not why I'm here. This is more... private."

Dr Isles pushed her laptop to the side. "I'm listening."

"D'you have a-" Jane lowered her voice- "tampon for me? I always forget to buy those, and when I do need them..."

"Sure, but-" Maura's hand hovered above her purse. "I thought you were...?"

"I thought so too, but then I did get my, y'know. Two weeks late, which has never happened to me before, but I'm not pregnant."

"Uhm... I'm happy for you?"

"You should be. I mean, what would I've done with a baby?"

"The same thing as every other woman. I've seen you interact with TJ and I'm sure you'd be a great mother."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm serious."

"Fine, maybe I'd be a good mom, but I'd have to survive pregnancy first. You know me, I'd go nuts if they put me on desk duty, which would definitely happen sooner or later. Plus I've put too much work into my abs to let them get destroyed by a big baby belly."

"Well, if those are the only things you'd worry about if you actually were pregnant..."

"Nope, my biggest problem would be my mother."

"Based on how much Angela enjoys babysitting TJ, I think she'd be delighted to have another grandchild - especially if she knew from the beginning that said baby was definitely her grandchild and not her stepson."

"Urgh, don't remind me..." TJ's mother Lydia had slept with both Frank Rizzoli Senior and his son Tommy, meaning Maura had to do a paternity test to determine that little TJ was indeed Tommy's son and Angela's grandson. "Uhm, tampon...?" Jane grimaced as her abdomen went into cramp once again.

"Oh, right." Maura reached into her purse. "Here you are. You can use the bathroom next to the crime lab."

"Thanks."

* * *

Five minutes later, Jane was back in her friend's office, looking slightly happier than before. "Please don't go all psychological on me now, but sometimes it sucks to be a woman."

"Jane! Language!"

"What? It's true! It's really unfair that guys don't have to deal with this."

Jane's private biology lesson unfortunately had to be cancelled because Maura's cell phone started ringing. "Dr Isles?... Okay, Jane and I'll be there in a few minutes." She ended the call. "That was Korsak, he and Frankie looked around the crime scene again and found a knife in a dumpster a few blocks away."

"A knife like the one our vic was stabbed with?"

"We'll see." Maura grabbed her car keys from her desk, causing Jane to groan: "Maur, we'll never arrive at the crime scene if you drive."

"Perhaps it'll take us a few minutes longer to get there, but my car is more environmentally friendly and I drive safer."

"Yeah, if by 'safer' you mean 'three times slower'." Jane pressed the button for the elevator.

"I stick to the speed limit, something a cop like you should approve of," Maura countered while stepping into the metal cabin. "Are you coming?"

"Uhm..." _Pull yourself together, Rizzoli! She just wanted to know if you're gonna step into that elevator anytime soon, the question wasn't meant to be sexual... I hope... _"Yeah, sure."

* * *

Homicide bullpen, later that same day

_Click-clack-click-clack. _"Jane? Sergeant Korsak?"

The latter looked up from his desk. "Hey Doc. You look like you found somethin'."

"I did. The knife you found in that dumpster matches the stab wounds in Christian Schulze's torso. And that's not everything: I also found fingerprints on the handle of that knife, from both Christian's step-grandmother and a certain Jason Builder."

"How did you get Jessica Baxter's fingerprints, I thought she was on Hawaii?"

"From her driver's license."

"Oh, right." Frankie looked like he was about to slap himself for asking such a dumb question. "Uhm, that makes her a suspect in your case, doesn't it?"

"Sure does, other Rizzoli. Now we can make her return to Boston early... after fillin' in about 50 different forms."

Jane rolled her eyes. "I know. Let's start with that right now, maybe we'll be done at a half decent time."

"Why, got a hot date?"

"Yup, with my couch and a bottle of beer." Jane bent over her computer's keyboard and was about to start typing, but looked up again: "Maur, you can keep us company if you like, but it's gonna be boring. Just two cops sitting in front of their computers and fillin' in some forms." She didn't have to say out loud what everyone in the room knew: _Right now, we could really use someone who can type faster than Korsak and me - someone like Frost, but he won't return from his holiday till the weekend._

"I'll stay," Maura announced. "Someone has to bring you coffee when Frankie has to go back to the Drug Unit."

"How do you know...?"

There was a knock on the door, and Rafael Martinez poked his head into the room. "Why am I not surprised to find you here, other Rizzoli? C'mon, we've got a case."

Frankie slowly rose from his (well, Barry Frost's) chair. "Another old couple who found a bag of flour in their garden and thought it was cocaine?"

"Better. A warehouse near Boston Harbor with a giant cannabis plantation inside."

"Woah. Uhm, see ya tomorrow." Frankie followed his boss out of the room.

"Don't look at me like that - I saw Martinez on the stairs, and since he already fetched Frankie away from Homicide yesterday, there was a chance he might do that again."

Jane grinned. "In other words, you guessed."

"I didn't!"

There wasn't any reply, for both Detectives were busy typing on their keyboards. Maura sat down on the edge of Jane's desk and prepared herself for several hours of boredom... _Wait, maybe it won't be that boring. If one of their computers started working really slow somewhere during that time, or even crashed completely, I might learn some new swear words. I don't plan on using them myself afterwards, but you never know..._

* * *

**A/N**

1\. I don't know if you actually have to get your fingerprints taken if you want to get a driver's license in Boston - I did some research, but all I found was that 'some' US states take people's fingerprints for that purpose. It didn't say if Massachusetts was one of those states, but I just assumed it was.

2\. There'll be one or two more chapters to this story. See ya next week :)


	12. Chapter 11

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 11**

**Rating: **T

**A/N  
**\- Everything written in between ** is a text message or a phone ringing.  
\- The thing with the fire extinguisher really happened at my school: Someone broke into the gym at night, covered the whole floor in fire extinguishing foam, and thus spared us a couple PE lessons ;)  
\- The song at the beginning of the chapter can be found on Youtube: watch?v=VuMwpfqHyZ0

* * *

The next morning (very early)

*Oh, what is the malted liquor,  
What gets you drunken quicker,  
What comes in bottles or in cans?  
BEER!*

* * *

Jane growled and hid under the blanket. Her phone kept on ringing, unfazed.

* * *

*Can't get enough of it,  
How we really love it,  
Makes me think I'm a man  
BEER!  
I could kiss and hug it,  
But I'd rather chuck it,  
Fill my belly up to here  
I could not refuse a  
BEER!  
I could really use a  
Beer beer beer beer...*

* * *

The detective grumbled a few words she wasn't allowed to say in her mother's (or Maura's) presence while trying to grab her phone from the bedside table. Eventually, she succeeded. "Rizzoli."

"Good morning to you too, sis," said the voice of Frankie Rizzoli. "Listen, I've got a problem..."

"Hell yeah, you do."

"Janie, I'm sorry I woke ya at six a.m., but I need a lift to work. Someone emptied a fire extinguisher right over my car."

"Frankie, stop jokin', it's too early in the morning."

"I wish it was a joke, but it's not. Wait, I'll send you a picture..."

A brief shower, a cup of coffee, and a short car ride later, Jane stood in front of her brother's car... at least she assumed it was Frankie's car; it was a little hard to tell since the vehicle was covered in white, slightly sticky extinguishing foam. "Any idea who did this?"

Frankie shrugged. "Some drunk kids, I guess... Uh, thanks for comin' over."

"No problem. My car's parked around the corner."

In front of BPD

"Jane! What are you doing here, you don't have to be in until noon?"

"I gave Frankie a lift 'cause some drunk kids sprayed fire extunguishing foam all over his car."

"Really? That's very nice of you."

"No need to sound surprised, Maur, I'm always nice." Jane slammed the car door shut.

"The suspects who have sat across from you in the interview room beg to differ. Do you really want to park your car here, where it's probably going to get towed again?"

"Yup."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Maura followed her friend up the stairs to the door.

Homicide bullpen

"Morning Vince, got anything new?"

Korsak swallowed a mouthful of donut before replying, "The cops on Hawaii put Jessica Baxter in the first plane to Boston, she'll be here in the evening."

"Good."

"But we lost our second witness - remember the bald guy with the umbrella we saw at the crime scene?"

"Uhm... yeah."

"That was the tour guide of Bärbel and her fellow travellers. He called BPD last night, said he didn't know anything 'bout our vic, and that their group was leavin' for New York today."

"He said _what_?! Isn't there some rule against this?"

Korsak sighed. "Unfortunately there isn't. As long as they're not in court, witnesses can tell the cops whatever they want."

"Damnit."

* * *

It was quiet for a few minutes, except for Korsak's newspaper rustling a little. "One of the janitors at Fenway is retirin'... damn, don't they have anythin' else to write about?"

"Apparently not... Wait a sec." Jane sat up a little straighter. "Ryan Baxter was from Boston, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"That means he was probably a Red Sox fan and might've watched a few games at Fenway."

"And you think this janitor guy just happens to remember a soldier who maybe came to Fenway once or twice and has been dead for almost 20 years?"

"It's worth a try. Let's get Ryan Baxter's file from the archive, go to Fenway, and show Ryan's photo to that janitor."

"Jane..." Korsak folded his newspaper and looked at his colleague. "We both know your gut feeling's rarely wrong, but that's not enough in this case. Not all Bostonians are Red Sox fans, and like I said, it'd be pure coincidence if that janitor remembered Ryan Baxter."

Detective Rizzoli leant back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. "I know, I just don't wanna sit here doing nothin' till we can question Jessica Baxter."

"What did you say?" Korsak yelled over the sudden loud howling. "And what's that noise, anyway?"

"Fire alarm!" Jane shouted back and stood from her chair. "C'mon, we have to get out of the building!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the cliffhanger. Good news: Next chapter's already halfway done, so you won't have to wait a whole week for it :)


	13. Chapter 12

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Chapter 12**

**Rating: **T

**Warning: **Long(ish) chapter alert :)

* * *

"Good news: The fire alarm was just a practice alert. Bad news: We still have about eight hours to go till our suspect arrives," Jane summarized the current situation as she sat back down at her desk. "Any ideas 'bout what we can do till then?"

"I do, but you probably won't like them."

"Tell me anyway."

Korsak drank the last drops of coffee from his mug before throwing the cardboard container into the wastepaper basket. "We could start doin' some of the necessary paperwork for this case."

"Lemme think... No. I'm going down to the morgue and say hi to Maura."

"But you talked to the doc less than two hours ago... Never mind." Korsak took a bite from his donut and got comfortable (well, as comfortable as one could get in an office chair) to watch some kitten videos.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jane took the elevator to the morgue, thinking about her former partner's words on the way down: _He's right, it's been less than two hours since I last saw Maur. But I can't help it, I like spendin' time with her, and I think - I hope - she feels the same. Seems like that saying about opposites attractin' each other does apply sometimes..._

*Oh, what is the malted liquor,  
What gets you drunken quicker,  
What comes in bottles or in cans...*

_Arrgh! _"Rizzoli. Where'd you get that ringtone from, by the way?"

"I downloaded it from the web. You don't like?"

"No," Jane deadpanned. "Why did you call me?"

"You've got a case. Someone fell off a hotel balcony on the 10th floor."

"Fell... or was pushed. You got an adress?... Okay, thanks Frankie. I'm gonna tell Maura, we'll be there in a few." Jane ended the call and made her way to her friend's office. "Maur?"

"In here," said a voice from behind the Japanese screen. Jane walked around it and stopped mid-stride, confused: "What are you doin' there?"

"I'm hanging upside down on my gravity inverter," the doctor stated the obvious. "That's a very good treatment for-"

"You can tell me all about this thing's benefits, but not right now. We've got a case."

Maura pouted a little, but pulled herself up into an upright position. "What happened?"

"Someone jumped - or was pushed - off a 10th floor hotel balcony. That's all I know at the moment."

* * *

Between investigating the new case and a trip to the hospital (Tommy Rizzoli had managed to break both his nose and one wrist by falling down a flight of stairs), the hours passed quite fast, and soon it was time for Jessica Baxter's interrogation. She turned out to be what Korsak dubbed a 'stubborn old mule', but after almost five hours, she finally confessed to having attempted to stab her step-grandson with a cake knife. When that hadn't worked, she had blackmailed her neighbor Jason Builder into killing Christian Schulze.

"Well done, Rizzoli," Sean Cavanaugh complimented as they watched Jessica being led away by some uniformed cops.

"Thanks Sir."

"Normally I'd give you and Vince a day off, but we just caught a new case, so I'm afraid you'll have come into work tomorrow."

"That's okay, Sir. See ya tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Maura ruled their new case a suicide, and by five p.m., everyone was free to go. "Dirty Robber?" Korsak suggested.

"Hell yeah. Can you call Frankie and ask him if he wants to come as well? I'm gonna ask Maura and Chris."

"Sure thing. See ya in a few."

Dirty Robber

"So now, please tell me about your case," Chris requested while fetching herself a chair from the neighbor table. "Your vic was killed by his grandmother?"

"Step-grandmother," Jane corrected. "And no, she didn't kill him - her bodybuilding neighbor did 'cause Jessica threatened to call the cops and tell them Jason was sellin' drugs to college kids."

"How did Christian meet Jessica, anyway?"

"Originally, he came to Boston to find his American grandpa, Private Ryan Baxter. Ryan died of lung cancer in 1985, but Christian didn't know that."

"So Christian comes to Boston... and just happens to show up at Jessica Baxter's door?" It was obvious that Chris had trouble believing this part.

"Probably found her name in the phone book," Korsak joined the conversation. "He knew his grandpa's name, so he started lookin' for people with the same last name... at least that's what I'd have done in his place."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have knocked on a random person's door just because they had the same last name as your grandpa and said, 'Hi, I'm your step-grandson from Germany, may I come in?'."

"According to Jessica Baxter, our vic didn't tell her who he was right away - that's why she invited him in at first and offered him some coffee. They talk, Christian drops the 'Oh, by the way, I'm your step-grandson' bomb, and Jessica tries to stab him - too fast for him to react, which is why there weren't any defensive wounds on the body."

"Guess he was surprised a lady as old as Jessica Baxter could move that fast," Chris said half to herself.

"Probably," Korsak agreed. "Christian's not dead, though, so Jessica makes her neighbor punch our vic in the collarbone. She's a retired nurse, so she knows a punch like that's probably gonna kill Christian - and it does. Later that night, after dropping his neighbor off at the airport, Jason Builder drags the body outside and dumps it onto the sidewalk, where Bärbel finds it the next morning."

"Okay, now I know _what _happened, but _why _exactly did Jessica Baxter try to kill he step-grandson?"

"Well, that's a long story..."

Chris held up a hand. "Uh, can someone get me a pen, please? If I don't write this 'long story' down, I'll forget the beginning of it before you even get to the end..."

"Actually, it's quite simple." Maura rummaged through her purse to find a pen before grabbing a paper napkin. "Private Ryan Baxter, US Army, transferred to Bremen, Germany, in 1960. Three years later, he met 16-year-old Katharina Schulze, who was spending the summer holidays at her aunt's house. Katharina got pregnant from Ryan, and in spring 1964, their daughter Elisa was born. Any questions so far?"

"No."

"Good." Maura continued telling the story while simultaneously drawing the family tree on her paper napkin. "A few months after Elisa was born, Ryan was transferred back to the States, where he got married to Jessica Smith in 1966. They - especially Jessica - really wanted children, but somehow it didn't work."

"Did Jessica know her husband had a kid with another woman?"

"Back then, she didn't. She learned about it decades later when her step-grandson Christian suddenly showed up on her doorstep - the son of of Jessica Baxter's stepdaughter Elisa Schulze and an unknown father, born in Bremen in 1990. When Christian was ten, he moved to Hengasch with his mother..."

"... and became my classmate, even though he was two years younger than me," Bärbel finished the sentence. "When we talked about World War II in History class, he started getting really interested in American culture, and one day, he walked into the classroom with a tiger tattoo on his arm. It was quite a scandal - Christian was only 14 or 15, after all, and Hengasch is a very small, very conservative village."

"Did he tell you why he'd gotten that tattoo?"

"He said it had something to do with his new favorite movie."

"Rocky, Part Three," Korsak added. "Eye of the Tiger, y'know?"

Chris nodded and started telling the others what she herself knew about the case. "A few years later, Elisa Schulze emigrated to Florida. The first time she spent the night in our drunk tank, we asked if there was any next of kin, and she said she had a son. She never mentioned him again, though - maybe they weren't on speaking terms with each other?"

"Maybe. Christian had just finished school when his mother left Germany, and he was quite angry with her," Bärbel remembered. Frankie had another idea: "Or he didn't have the money to go to Florida as well. Flights across the Atlantic can be pretty expensive."

"And why d'you know that, little brother?"

"Uhm... Google?" _I wanna visit Bärbel in Hengasch some time, but I'm not gonna tell Janie 'cause I'm really not in the mood for the whole 'Frankie's got a girlfriend!' bullshit. But right now I need a new conversation topic, and fast. _"So... who d'you think is gonna win the Soccer World Cup?"

Bärbel shrugged. "I'll cheer for Germany, of course, but I don't think we're really going to win." She grinned as a thought entered her mind: "Maybe I'd cheer for your team, too, but you're playing against Germany, and you stole our coach."

"We did? Sorry 'bout that." Jane took a sip from her beer. "We're gonna cheer for the US - obviously -, but also for Italy and maybe France."

"Just because I went to boarding school in France, doesn't mean I have to like their national soccer team," Maura disagreed. "And why would I cheer for Italy?"

One of Jane's eyebrows arched up: "Cause I'll kick you out of my appartment if you won't?"

"Well, good thing you're most likely going to try and watch the games at my house, because I've got a bigger TV," Maura countered. "And you can hardly kick me out of my own living room."

Korsak chuckled. "She's got a point, Rizzoli. Anyone knows where Frost's ancestors came from, so that we can cheer for that team as well?"

"No idea," Jane had to admit. "Never asked him 'bout that... Maybe we should just cheer for all African teams in the competition and hope one of them is the land of Frost's great-great-great-grandparents?"

"Or we'll just ask Barry himself when he returns from his holiday," Maura suggested. "When will he be back, by the way?"

"Sunday afternoon." Frankie belched, and his sister punched him in the ribs. "Sorry. Next round's on me."

* * *

**A/N: **If you want, you can stop reading at this point. If not, you can read the epilogue, the real end of this story... and the beginning of a sequel? Who knows... ;)


	14. Epilogue

**Eye of the Tiger EN**

**Epilogue**

**Rating: **T

* * *

Jane's appartment, the next morning

_Oh, good, I'm clothed, _was the first thing Jane thought when she opened her eyes. _And Maura is, too. That means my dream was just that - a dream. _A moment later, _I should probably be bothered by the fact that I'm havin' dreams about my best friend in which we're both naked, but I'm not. In fact, I kinda like it._

Maura was woken by a bloodcurdling scream, which made her sit up so fast that she got a little dizzy. "Jane? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," the detective called from the guest bathroom. "I just wasn't prepared for the water comin' out of the shower _this _cold."

Chuckling, Maura got up, went to the bathroom, got dressed, and then proceeded to prepare breakfast. Then, the two of them enjoyed their eggs and bacon (Jane), organic muesli (Maura), and coffee (both) while watching the news on TV. The program was rather boring... until one of the captions caught Jane's attention: _Serious car accident in NYC - NYPD: 5 dead, multiple injured. _"Maur..."

Maura placed a hand on her friend's lower arm. "Yes Jane, Frost is in New York at the moment. But what's the chance he was involved in that accident?"

"I know, but I just have this feeling that something's wrong with him. And my gut feeling is usually right..."

END

* * *

**A/N: **Not a happy one, sorry - I hope you liked this story anyway. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed it. Take care, and have fun watching the Soccer World Cup :),

MM-UP


End file.
